The Living Daylights
by Dante Crailman
Summary: Shirou Emiya thought his passing will be a peaceful one. However, he was reborn as the supposed to be heir to the House of Gremory and despite being an oddity amongst his kind, he settled to make a path of his own in this new world. (Slight AU & Devil!Shirou)


High School DxD is written by Ichiei Ishibumi and illustrated by Miyama-Zero. The Fate series is owned by Type-Moon. I do not claim any ownership to the characters you read here whatsoever and this is a work of fiction.

* * *

It was during her first time as a police officer on the streets of London where she encountered him. Several reports of missing people have been reported to their station and despite investigations of finding said individuals, none of them ever found out the truth. To alleviate the fears of the people, she and her partner along with other officers were tasked to patrol the misty streets of London.

"Hah, whoever the perpetrators are, they will get a taste of lead!"

Officer Leila Malcal along with fellow officer, Thomas, patrolled the area with their flashlights on. A cold breeze passed through the uniform of the woman and she felt a shudder underneath.

"We're arriving at the church! Better hurry up, newbie!"

"Of course!" she tucked herself in her jacket as she followed her senior.

'The old church has been the center of rumors among the folks with some of them believing it is cursed. The less fortunate travelers seek refuge here if they don't have any pennies with them.'

Thomas came to a halt at the rusted gates of the church. Leila managed to catch up and observed the rundown structure.

"Well, the criminals won't just give themselves up. Let's go, Sir Thomas." Leila said, prying the gates open.

"W-wait! Maybe we s-should leave this one for l-last, you know?" the senior officer muttered and his junior gave him an unimpressed look.

"Sir, there have been reports of missing travelers and most of them made their last stop here. The early we do this, the early we can leave the place, right?"

"It's because this place is cursed!" Thomas yelled out indignantly and Leila sighed at his words.

'I can't believe this…' she didn't spare any words and began to walk towards the wooden doors of the church.

"Hey! I'll be the one in trouble with your recklessness!" he's the one who's catching up with her now.

The church held an ominous air around it with its broken windows all boarded up. The clock already ceased to work about 5 years ago when the disappearances. The travelers who chose to stay here left nothing but their torn clothes and bloodied suitcases. No bodies were found and the townsfolk believed that a curse lingered around.

The pair observed the corridors; one is leading up to the altar and another one to the second floor. There's also another stairway where the church bells are. Leila straightened herself up as she slowly moved towards the path up to the second floor with Thomas following behind.

"What is that!?" her senior shrieked out at the sudden crackled behind him and he shone his flashlight to the stairways. A squeak freaked him out and came out a small mouse.

"It's just a mouse, sir, nothing out of ordinary," Leila remarked and Thomas threw in a coughing fit.

His voice echoed throughout the walls of the church and it roused the sleeping denizens. A horde of bats coming from the stairways clamped down to both officers. Some of them tangled down in Leila's hair as she attempted to remove them but it was painful to do so. She felt a hand on her stomach and she was forcefully dragged away from her partner.

The horde of bats disappeared along with the female officer and Thomas was all left alone in his crevices.

* * *

Leila's body slammed hard to the chair and she heard a door shut. She struggled under the grasp of the unknown assailant.

"You won't be able to run away this time!" the unknown voice spoke. "What the?"

He released her from his grasp, allowing her to grab her cuffs and put him in shackles. Leila rubbed her stomach area to alleviate some pain she felt and looked at the shackled man.

He was a young man, wearing a white coat that has a silver-colored cross on the back, accenting silver lines on each side of it, silver crosses on his shoulders and a metal rose. What stood out to her is probably his red auburn hair.

"Who are you!?" Leila questioned and the redhead raised his hands.

"I'm just a traveler, officer!" she didn't take his excuse seriously and cuffed the young man in the metal bar of the windows.

"You do realize you're trespassing private property, right?"

"No, I didn't know that…" she furrowed her brows at him. "Alright, I heard the rumors about this place being cursed. I need a place to stay and here I am."

"Are you telling the truth?" she questioned even further.

"Yes, ma'am! You can even check…"

The redhead was cut off by a scream of another person downstairs and Leila knew whose voice it was. She grabbed her flashlight and turned to him. "Stay there, okay? I'll check it out!"

"No, don't go!" he called out to the female officer but she disappeared into the corner.

Leila made haste to the main hallway where Thomas was left alone and her senior made another howling scream. She stopped and saw the surroundings in disarray than the last time she saw it. She also found her partner hanging upside down with blisters all over his body.

"Leila, help me!" Thomas shouted out.

Leila cannot believe what she saw and like any sane person went to help her senior.

"No, don't go near him!" she heard another voice and she saw the supposed to be handcuffed redhead at the top of the stairs. He was waving his hands frantically too. "It's a trap!"

Leila stopped dead in her tracks as the blisters in the man's body began throbbing. The young man jumped from the second floor and made a dash towards her, pushing both him and her out of harm's way as the blisters exploded. They both hid behind the walls as the acid ate away at the wooden furniture.

"Sir Thomas… is dead…" Leila muttered, unable to grasp what just happened.

"…There's no time to mourn, you must get out of here before they…"

A loud crash erupted to the altar, they both peeked to see what it was, and Leila covered her mouth to hide the astonishment she's seeing. It was only the product of literature and imagination yet her eyes won't pry away from it.

It spread its wings around, their color was jet black, and it has a majestic aura surrounding its entirety. She can't even peel away from the sight, forgetting the fact that her partner just died. The redhead immediately noticed that Leila was fixated and he shook her away from it.

"Ma'am, that thing you saw there is the one who indirectly killed your companion and the one responsible for the disappearances of the townsfolk."

She cannot believe what she just heard! That thing was behind it all? She rummaged her hands through on her head, trying to process everything that's happening right now.

"That's an angel, right?"

"A Fallen Angel, to be exact." the redhead clarified as the said Fallen went to the dead body, sneering at the fool who was caught in the trap. "…I thought I've disabled all the traps," he muttered lowly.

"I can sense your demonic energy, you sly little Devil," the Fallen called out and Leila is bewildered by the weird creature. She glanced at the young man beside her who is biting his lips at the remark.

"…Is that true? You're a Devil?"

The redhead looked at her straight in the eye and just grabbed her hand, making a run to the nearest windows.

"There you are!" the Fallen exclaimed, summoning a spear of light towards their direction, and barely managing to hit both. The spear disappeared into tiny motes of light and both Leila and the young man dashed away from the scene.

The roofs of the church blasted apart and the Fallen Angel soared high into the air and began to chase them through the now foggy streets. Numerous light spears formed behind the Fallen, targeting both Leila and him.

"What should we do!? He's relentless!" she yelled out and even he can see it. Now that the police officer has seen it all, he might as well reveal what he truly was.

He unleashed his own set of wings as opposed to the feathery ones that the Fallen has, his was more in tatters. He carried off Leila who only yelped at the action and they both flew off from the ground. The now shocked officer is holding on to her dear life as the gush of wind passed her face.

It was all too much for her brain to process but one thing Leila knew…

She just uncovered a mind-blowing discovery.

"Woah!" she was turned upside down and the river of Thames came into view. She looked up to see the redhead, holding her heels and she also saw the Fallen still giving chase.

The Fallen ceased to use the spears, opting to attack now using balls of immense light that it lit up the entire Thames. The redhead's eyes widened at the incoming holy light and as someone who is not a fan of holy magic. The ball hurled towards them, Leila found herself being hugged by him, and he loudly declared.

"Brace for impact!" he covered her with his wings as they loudly crashed into the hard ground.

* * *

The searing pain of the holy light was all over his body and he looked at the now unconscious police officer. Aside from a few bruises on her arms, no major damage affected her body. He set her aside to the alleyway, ignoring the now ruined establishment where he inevitably crashed.

A gust of wind caught his attention as the Fallen Angel came down with a slight look of disbelief.

"You should have been evaporated into nothingness with that attack. How come you're still here?"

The young man groaned and hissed as he looked at his now injured arm. He tried to wave it off and let his body heal itself.

"I heard stories of a young Devil who was born into the house of the Gremory. That young individual was not gifted with the Bael's Power of Destruction, forcing his parents to disown him,"

"Actually…" he interrupted the Fallen. "I chose to leave on my own."

A cruel smile formed on the Fallen Angel's face as he moved into a battle stance. The Devil did the same as he summoned a nodachi that is even longer than he is and it defied common sense.

"This will be too easy!" his enemy disappeared from the ground and he followed the light that came from the Fallen. The spear of light came in contact with his nodachi, deflecting it in the process.

'He's fast much like how every one of his kind were and they rely on the former blessings of their Father.' he shortly observed.

The Fallen backpedalled and he forced himself to twist his body. It was one of the advantages of using long weapons like his spear. They can both block and use their weapon's reach to close in on their opponents.

He concentrated and attempted to attack the Devil once more on his right where he exposed himself. His opponent seemed to know what he was about to do as the nodachi was made contact with his spear of light. A shocked look marred his face, he didn't expect for the Gremory heir to be this well-versed with any kind of swords.

The Fallen Angel grunted, pulled back, and began an onslaught of attacks, annoyance starting to fill him in.

The redhead kept up with his opponent to and much like the man, he too needed to adapt if he ever wanted to defeat this fiend. His opponent was not amused by this show of prowess and every time he gives away an opening for the Fallen to take advantage of, he simply blocked it with his nodachi.

In a contest of swordsmanship, the redhead knew what are the difficulties.

"You! Our reports said that you are not adept at elemental magic! Are you a Sacred Gear user!?" the Fallen blurted out.

"I can change weapons if you want to." the nodachi disappeared and changed to two swords. They are identical in shape with the only difference being their color. The black sword is covered in a hexagonal pattern and the white sword has less of the shine of a polished than the other one.

The Devil motioned the Fallen to come for him again. He doesn't know what kind of plan he was trying to do but he won't allow himself to be killed by his hands. The moment came and he attacked again as they both locked themselves in place. The redhead lashed out both of his swords and he managed to push his opponent back.

"What do you say we end this here, eh? Killing a High-Class Devil such as you would bring honor to my once disgraced name!"

"Sounds like a plan to me." he snarled at the Fallen Angel's declaration as the man charged to him once more.

This prompted him to throw both of his swords at him and just as to be expected, his spear deflected them with ease. He also charged towards him with no weapons at hand…

Or so his opponent thought…

He summoned another copy of the two swords and charged against him. With his holy spear, he can easily kill him now and blow him up inside out and once that happens… he can go back to the ranks of the Governor-General with his honor restored.

The redhead reinforced his legs and lunged forward, throwing the white sword at the Fallen Angel.

"You're dead!" he mightily roared out.

"Trace Overedge!" the teen shouted as the black sword he was holding transform into a long sword, pushing the hilt of the white one directly to his opponent's chest.

Time has stopped for both men with the Devil impaling his heart with the white sword. Blood gurgled out of his mouth as his opponent drove it even further down until he was pinned at the ground.

"…I must say, this was an unexpected outcome…" he coughed out some blood, staining his tattered shirt. "You won, Shirou Gremory."

With one last push, he put the final nail to his opponent's life, putting an end to the culprit of the disappearances.

Shirou huffed and gazed at the dead body. There was no show of remorse or empathy at him. One wouldn't last long if they let emotions get the better of them.

'Made you feel it, did he?'

He inspected his surroundings and the amount of destruction that they had cause will surely catch the attention of the authorities. He needs to get out of here fast! The Devil went to the still unconscious Leila, carried her off to his back and went to the direction of the nearest clinic to have her checkup.

* * *

Leila Malcal opened her eyes and she was greeted by the monotonous white ceiling. She noticed that she wasn't wearing her police uniform now and they were set aside at the chairs. She gripped her head in pain, trying to remember what happened last night before she lost her consciousness.

'Where am I?' she said to herself.

"Thank goodness, you're awake now!" she recognized the voice of one of her seniors. "The captain wants to see you immediately!"

The rookie officer was pulled by her companion and was brought to another room. Memories flooded in her head and she remembered her senior, Thomas and how he was killed…

"Wait, about Sir Thomas," she didn't get to finish her sentence as she was shocked by the appearance of one redhead in the room.

"Are you alright now, officer?" he greeted with a smile as if the events last night were just a daily occurrence.

An enormous man whose belly is protruding and is only held by the suit he's wearing slam his hands at the table. The redhead was startled and forced himself to straighten out to his captors.

"So, your name's Shirou Gremory?" the young man meekly nodded. "No nationality and even any physical address. You brought an unconscious officer right on our doorstep and most of all, your suitcase was found in the crime scene where one of our officers got killed!"

"Wait! This is all just a misunderstanding! I didn't do anything against the law," he suddenly remembered that he trespassed private property. "Okay, maybe trespassing nonetheless, I can have Officer Leila Malcal to vouch for me!" he glanced at the female officer with a hopeful look.

She doesn't know what to say about this. In one hand, the events last night did happen and the young man whose name was Shirou Gremory is sitting there, expecting her to cover up for him. If she did tell what happened last night, she will be branded as a lunatic for saying that Thomas was killed by an Angel. By the looks of it, she might have to lie her way out of this.

"Shirou didn't do it, captain. It was someone else, he helped me and try to capture the one who killed Sir Thomas but…" Leila trailed off, unable to explain it wholly.

"I think I have an explanation," the redhead raised his hand and every officer in the room looked at him. "The culprit is not human per se. It was a Fallen Angel and a rogue one to boot. I don't know what his intentions are but my guess his objective is probably to rile up the townsfolk and have their brothers and sisters come down here to check on it."

A deafening silence envelops the room as the officers try to make sense as to what he just ramble on. Fallen Angels and their brethren? Such an outrageous story is something that maniacs make up to try to cover up their crimes and the police captain was not thoroughly convinced.

"What kind of police officer gets knock out in a duty anyway!?" the captain looked pissed and Leila hung her head down in shame.

"Don't be so hard on her…"

"Quiet, kid! You're still a person of interest!" the doors suddenly opened and another officer came in with his breath short and his uniform disheveled. He leaned into the captain's ears and whispered something in his ear.

"What is going on to this city!?" he ran his hands over his nearly balding head and turned towards the rookie officer. "Keep an eye on him and don't doze off, got it!?"

She replied with a whisper, grabbed her jacket from the other room, and motioned Shirou to follow him. The redhead quietly left the police station, watching as a group of Leila's superiors scramble to go to the site where he fought the Fallen Angel.

They arrive at her home just near the church in one of the many apartments lingering around the area. Leila inserted the keys to the door and hung her jacket at the hooks.

He follows suit, his eyes darting everywhere from the dusty appliances that needed to be cleaned. Pictures of younger girls along with a man and woman caught his attention to what he guessed was the girl, her sister and parents.

'I wonder how Sirzechs is doing right now? It's been quite awhile since I've seen him.'

"Shirou! I need to talk to you." he heard his name being called out by her.

She sat at the table and offered the redhead a seat to which he did. She stared at him for a minute, trying to form the words out of her mouth but unable to.

"First things first, since you're under my watch, don't even think of escaping, okay? I don't want to lose my chances of being promoted just because you can't follow simple rules."

"Of course, but to be honest it'll be good for you and me if we separate from one another." he stood up and gazed out at a window. He can also see the church where he first encountered the female officer. "Huh, the church's like a block away from your home."

He didn't hear any response from her and he found her with a serious look on her face. Shirou ignored the knife she had in her hands and she also dons a threatening aura around her.

"Last night, it was not a dream. I've seen it, the Fallen or whatever you call it and you…" she bit her lip, slowly approaching the redhead who only stood motionless and with a neutral expression. "You're a Devil, someone who claims souls to nourish themselves."

This perception of hers towards his kind held some truth… at least back in the old days. However, as the ascension of the new Devil Kings into power, there's no need to do so. Instead, they adopted a new way to ensure that their kind survives though he has mix feelings about it.

"I thought that you'll brush it off and all."

"Brush it off? How many of your kind are lingering around here? Are you here to steal my soul?" Leila came with a barrage of questions and he cannot help but let out a chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that we don't do the soul claiming anymore. We can do it but we're not that barbaric anymore. As times progress, our kind must also go with the changes unless we want to face problems," he explained as he sat in the chair once again. "Nonetheless, not all of my brethren feel the same way and it goes the same way for the Fallen Angels."

Shirou and Leila stared at one another; he doesn't know how the woman will react to it. Aside from her threats of hurting him, the knowledge of the existence of the supernatural could freak out a normal civilian.

"You could have killed me but you didn't? Why?"

She heard him tap his fingers across the table.

"I don't kill for sport or pleasure."

His words were able to alleviate her concerns about having her soul be taken away. She settled the knife down at the kitchen and scrutinized him as she left the kitchen to settle in her room.

"Aren't you gonna watch over me?"

"It looks to me that you don't have any intentions of actually staying here. Just go, I'll think of some excuse as to why you left."

"Wait, how about your," he heard the door slammed against him "…job?"

Shirou felt genuinely bad for her but he also knew that he rather expose himself when he fought the Fallen. He doesn't know when they will arrive but he should leave immediately for his and her sake as well.

Nighttime arrived at Westminster and with it, another night of patrol must be done. Leila didn't get much sleep as she was plagued by the nightmare of her superior's death. As much as she wants to get rid of those horrid memories, it won't go away anytime soon. She sighed to herself, washed her face, and went to the living room.

She nearly called out the name of the Devil that she was supposed to watch over then she remembered that she allowed him to go on his merry way.

'Why did I even expect him to stay?' she muttered.

She shouldn't expect too much integrity from a Devil, they are creatures born out of sin and they are filled with lies and deceit. Or so she thought when she met the young man.

'It doesn't matter, I guess. He can protect himself from the dangers outside and I don't think I can handle him anyway.' Leila said to herself as she grabbed her coat once more, ready to face the wrath of her superiors.

She ventured once more to the foggy streets of Westminster back to the station.

* * *

Shirou didn't know if he made the right decision of leaving the young woman. With her knowledge about the existence of their kind, she might be a target for anyone who could be searching for him. Though, if she keeps her mouth shut, there won't be any problems.

…

He paused, looked at the starry sky and to the people around him and trailed the Thames river. A gust of wind passed through him and he ignored it at first then came the second, third, fourth and fifth. He stared hard at the reflection and he saw their silhouettes in the water. They may not be visible to the naked eye of an ordinary person but to others like him, they do not hide their presence at all.

'Leila!' he sputtered out as he trailed the silhouettes back to town.

* * *

Luck has never been on her side or perhaps, she was just cursed all along. When she stumbled to the police headquarters, only one or two officers were put in charge. The chief and the rest were investigating the abandoned church and she follows suit too.

When she arrived at the place, she felt another shiver on her spine and she rushed towards the church. Leila heard some shots coming from the altar and she saw it too.

There's a lot of them circling above and her superiors are trying to shoot them down. Claws protrude to the side of their wings, lines of cloth surround their massive bodies but the most distinguishable part of are their faces. All of them have their eyes, ears and noses missing, however, they are still somewhat coordinated.

"What are these things!?" the chief cried out as he loaded his gun. "Shoot them down!" he ordered the others to which they are currently doing.

They fired their guns at the winged creatures that resembled gargoyles and while they can hit their targets, it doesn't seem to faze them a bit.

"Chief, everyone! Get out of there!" Leila yelled at them.

"Officer Malcal! Didn't I tell you to watch over the boy!?" the chief bawled out. Whatever he wanted to say to his stubborn subordinate was cut off as he began to notice the creatures piled to one another.

They all sweep down to the group of officers, slashing and hacking their flesh one by one. The young woman stared in horror as their howls of pain rang through her ears. She didn't spare any thought and she drew for the first time her gun and started to unload its contents to the killers.

"Why did you kill them!? They were just doing their jobs!?" she screeches out to the lot.

"Words are useless to them, Leila." she was obstructed by the body of Shirou whom she thought was gone by now.

"They are just killing people indiscriminately!"

"Souls are their sustenance and they take delight to see their prey suffer," he explained as the creatures squall when they felt the surge of magical energy from him. "You better close your eyes for this one."

"Why?"

"Suit yourself," he took something out of the sleeves of his white coat, a red shroud that he had wrapped around his wrists and some matches.

She doesn't know what he will do this time but whatever it is, he needs to hurry it up. Leila stood behind the redhead and watched him as he stroke the match and brought it up to the shroud. A few seconds later, a dazzling light that came from the burning shroud, emanated all around the church and it forced her to close her eyes.

The flames from the holy shroud he burned have turned the Blazers to complete dust. He deeply breathe and hissed in pain as he took quite a damage from using the shroud. Despite his nature as a Devil, touching any artifacts that were blessed by the Church would be a pain. Even muttering the name of the Biblical God can cause slight discomfort in a Devil but not him.

He laid his body at the pillar and noticed that Leila did the same too. She curled up her body and hugged herself, comforting herself that the ordeal was now over. A tear escaped her left eyes as she mourned for the lives that were lost.

"Shirou, you said that Heaven and Hell exist, right?"

"Yes, and will those officers find comfort in Heaven or punishment to the depths of the Underworld? I don't know the right answer to that."

"Are you lying to me?" she asked and she heard him chuckle.

"No, just because I'm a Devil, doesn't mean that I lie all the time, Officer Leila. They'll just linger around and possibly disappear into nothingness."

If that was the case, it'll be better for them since they won't be forced to do the bidding of others. Especially the devils who are reluctant to the changes made by the new Devil Kings.

"I don't even know what to do now. I'll be the one who will be lynched after this incident." she can already imagine being the one responsible to answer the questions of the investigation team who might handle this case.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Shirou stood up to his feet, ignoring the pain he's experiencing as there are more pressing matters that he needs to deal with. The doors opened and the moonlight shone on the figure.

"I have found you, at last, Lord Shirou." Leila couldn't help but admire the beauty of the woman who just mentioned the redhead's name.

She was wearing a black shirt with white trims on the side that perfectly accents her voluptuous figure. Around her neck was a green scarf wrapped to her shoulders as well. Her silver strands blend well with her eyes too.

"Grayfia, you look well." the redhead complimented before he turned away from the scrutinized gaze of the silver-haired woman. She glanced at the other occupant whose eyes were fixed towards her.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Grayfia Lucifuge, maid to the household of Gremory." she bowed slightly to the female officer who was a bit flustered by her actions.

"I'm Leila M-Malcal! I-It's nice to meet you, Ms Grayfia!" she greeted back at her.

"It seemed that something happened here recently. May I inquire as to what it is?" the female officer balled her fists, remembering how each and one of her superiors were killed right before her eyes.

The Devil saw her pained expression and whispered something to Grayfia's ears. The silver-haired woman quietly nodded at his words and he lightly patted her shoulders and called out to Leila.

"I think this is where are our paths will separate. I do hope soon, you will find your peace, Leila Malcal." Shirou bid his farewell to her, unfurling his wings and fleeing away from the church.

As he flew away, he noticed a red streak of light from the church, signifying that Grayfia used magic against Leila. It was for her good if she forgets all about this. Call him an insensitive Devil for doing it but there's no use to mourn for the dead.

He came to a complete halt and landed on Hyde Park away from the few people who are now out. He fixed his clothing and picked up his suitcase, following the trail out of the park. He ran into some familiar sights on his way out that he could not help but reminisce some memories.

"_I'll miss this…" the woman fondly said, holding him close. _

"_Me too, we barely had enough time to spend together," he replied, basking in the presence of his lover. "Don't worry, after this, we'll have all the time in the world for ourselves."_

"…_I do hope so."_

"Lord Shirou?"

The redhead snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of Grayfia from behind. He faced her and there was just something about her presence that made him uneasy. Perhaps, it was just the knowledge of her being the Underworld's Strongest Queen or that his older brother was afraid of her.

"You look well… not like anything's change or anything. How did you find me anyway?"

"Lord Sirzechs finds a way." was the maid's short answer.

He shouldn't have underestimated the connections of his eldest brother. He is the Satan after all and his influence spreads everywhere throughout the Underworld and possibly here too.

"Seriously, he shouldn't be abusing his power," he ran his injured hand over his hair. "I appreciate you searching for me but I think I'll be fine. Besides, the Hellblazers manage to found me, that's not good."

"You were able to repel them… for now. You used your gift once again and look at your hand," she jerked his damaged hand and examined it, a scary frown made him shiver a bit before she sighed. "Let me heal this for you."

Grayfia took out a small vial out of her pockets and he instantly recognized it. Phoenix Tears, a powerful healing item capable of curing any injuries, very handy he must say. It's just hard to get a hand to these as they're somewhat a rarity and the House of Phenex is not keen too just give this stuff out without any proper compensation.

He can feel it's effects in his hand and a few moments, his reddened hand was all good. "Much better, thanks." she merely bowed at him.

"I'm simply doing my duties."

"And you're really good at it," Shirou praised, giving off a smile of his own. "You better return to your husband. Tell him that his brother will be fine by himself and tell our parents the same."

"You are dedicated to keeping up this whole farce of you being disowned."

"Truth be told, I'm tired of dealing with politics and all that. When I propose this to Sirzechs, he was so angry, he nearly turned me into dust." the redhead won't forget how pissed his older brother was due to his suggestion. "Besides, this is good for my growth as I can meet people from all walks of life. I also want to train myself with my abilities, seeing that the Power of Destruction has eluded me."

"Are you purposely avoiding your responsibilities as the heir of the Gremory household? This is your future we're talking about and I'm not allowing it to be in ruins." she tries to justify her action of bringing Shirou back to the Underworld.

"I'm a functioning 22-year-old Devil who can defend himself from rogue elements. It's not like I'll be gone forever, I just need time to hone my gift and I can't do that if I'm being constantly watched."

The maid didn't contend with his words, knowing how his life might be in danger due to his slight immunity to Holy elements. Despite him not being blessed with the Bael's Power of Destruction, he gained something else. This made him a one of a kind Devil of his own.

Though, if he wanted to explore more about his gift, practicing it with someone who's already used to Holy elements is the next obvious step. However, those practitioners are not really fond of their kind for obvious reasons. Though, if she were to be asked if she would allow him to be with them, she would be vehemently against it.

"Hmm… if it's your earnest wish, I respect it, Lord Shirou." the silver-haired woman gave in to his request.

"For a moment I thought that you'll drag me back home!" he chuckled under his breath and he can imagine her, dragging him by his ear.

"I did consider that option at some point," she replied with no remorse whatsoever, bringing a chill up to the redhead's spine.

"You're really scary, aren't you, Grayfia?"

"I shall return and report this incident to Lord Lucifer as well as to Lord Zeoticus and Lady Venelana."

"Just omit the Fallen Angel part, okay?" he pleaded though she was not so sure if she can keep it between them. Shirou didn't have much of a choice since the influence of their faction spreads far and wide.

"This will be a goodbye… for now. Take good care of yourself." a red magical circle enveloped Grayfia's form, bearing the insignia of the Gremory family. In a few seconds, she completely disappeared back to the Underworld.

Shirou straightened himself up and left the park. The people began to fill the streets and it was completely different from the one he had lived in. A melodious beat rang to his ear and some children ran past to him. He followed them and he saw an entourage of circus men.

'Hmm… maybe I can hitchhike with them?'

He didn't waste any time as he trailed the entourage and jumped at the last carriage. His action didn't go unnoticed as one of the circus staff checked their uninvited guest.

"Hey! Who are you!?" one of them asked.

The redhead flashed a smile to the group. "Just a wanderer trying to see what the world has to offer, you wouldn't mind having an extra passenger now, would you?"

The members looked at one another and a monocle-wearing individual stepped forward. He motioned him to stand up and examined him.

"You're pretty tall, your red hair makes you stand out among others and your face," he pulled him closer beyond his comfort. "You're obviously not around these parts and your clothes, you sure you're not some son of a rich family?"

He resisted the urge to say that he was right about his observation. Maybe he should change into something more ordinary?

"No, sir."

"Well, why should we allow you to travel with us?"

"I can juggle swords and I know how to cook!" came his earnest reply.

"Why didn't you say so? Hey you, losers! We got ourselves a good catch!"

More of them came out and excitingly welcome him to the circus group. Surely, this would be a long journey for him.

* * *

I'm back, not with an update or anything but with a new story that's been bugging me for a long time now. Some elements you might find here may remind you of some DxD fics in other crossovers… just a heads up.

While it's nothing new to see Shirou as a Devil, I guess I just want to try something new. I wouldn't reveal any important plot points for now, they'll unravel themselves later. If you have any gripe with the story, just leave a review and I'll see to it.


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